The Mixed Tape
by ridiculous 123
Summary: In Season 4, Summer went away on G.E.O.R.G.E. She left all her friends behind. But Seth gave her a mixed CD that she put her Ipod. This is it... [Completed]
1. The Mixed Tape

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this song. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates!

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**1. The Mixed Tape**

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Music filled her head with sound as Summer fell into the seat on the G.E.O.R.G.E bus. She closed her eyes for a moment as she adjusted the volume of her Ipod. She opened her brown eyes to find that a tall, blonde-haired boy, who seemed around her age, was standing next to the empty seat next to her. He was wearing a green t-shirt that read: Save a Tree, Eat a Beaver. 

"What?" She said.

He was saying something but she couldn't hear what he was telling her. She then realized she had her earpods in, and quickly took them out.

"Um, can I sit next to you?" He asked.

Summer gave him a polite smile and moved her bags. "Sure. I'm Summer."

Blonde boy sat down in the seat next to her.

She looked out the window to see Seth, Ryan and Taylor. She wished Coop was there with them, seeing her off, but Summer knew that Coop was up there (in heaven, the afterlife, _whatever_) looking down her. She gave them a small wave as the G.E.O.R.G.E bus began to move.

She closed her eyes again, putting back in her earpods but turning the volume low in case the boy sitting next to her asked her something.

"So, what are you listening to?"

She opened her eyes and stared at him. He wasn't bad looking if she wasn't so in love with Cohen and was actually single. He almost looked like he'd be good for Taylor if she wasn't dating Ryan. He had blonde hair and brown eyes and seemed nice enough.

"Um, wait, what did you say? Sorry...it's just..." Summer trailed off, realizing he probably didn't care.

"What's on your Ipod?" He asked again.

Summer glanced down at her Ipod screen. "Uh, I'm not sure actually. It just says 'Track One' and then the CD title says 'Seth's mixed CD for the lovely lady in his life while she travels around the world.'"

The boy laughed. "That's funny. I'm guessing he's your boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Summer blushed. "I hate leaving him but I was asked by G.E.O.R.G.E and so, he was all for it. He told me that...well, it's corny, never mind."

"I get the picture. Can I listen? I'm a music junkie, I could probably tell you what song you're listening to."

"Okay."

Summer took out an earpod and gave it to the blonde boy. She then let the lyrics fill her head.

_This is morning,  
That's when I spend the most time,_

_Thinking 'bout what I've given up,_

_This is a warning._

"Oh, this is Jack's Mannequin, and the song is called The Mixed Tape. I'm guessing he chose it for obvious reasons." He paused for a moment. "Man, I should've thought of something for my girlfriend. Your boyfriend's smart."

Summer laughed. "Yeah, I guess he is. He always does over the top stuff so I guess this is much more subtle."

He gave her back her earpod, which she placed in her ear. "What kind of stuff?"

_Where are you now?_

_As I rearrange the songs again,_

_This mix could burn a hole in anyone,_

_But it was you I was thinking of,_

_And I can't get to you,_

_I can't get to you._

Summer blushed again and took one earpod out of her ear. "Well, there was this one time where in tenth grade, he told me he loved me on top of a coffee cart in front of the whole school..."


	2. Wait

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this song. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates!

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**2. Wait**

* * *

Summer wasn't having a good day. 

First, she talked to a small group of high schoolers in New Jersey. That was really nice, and the kids seemed really interested in the environment. A couple of the boys seemed bored, but she expected it to be like that. One girl was constantly asking questions about her love life with Seth. Summer figured the girl read way too much of Taylor's blog. Summer was curious why Taylor was writing about their relationship because it was really Taylor's blog, not Taylor's blog on the love life (and torn relationship) of Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts.

Right now was where her day was sucking.

After the visit with the New Jersey high school, she had gone out with a couple other G.E.O.R.G.E volunteers. They went out for coffee at some diner. It seemed New Jersey was _filled_ with diners. While she was drinking her coffee and listening to the volunteers' talk about their lives and/or day, she began to drift off. The scene she was in not only reminded her of many episodes of _The Valley _(which, now that it was cancelled after a short-lived fourth season, she really missed) but of home. It reminded her of days when she, Seth, Ryan and Marissa (and more recently, Taylor) went to the diner by the Pier and ate pancakes or drank coffee or just sat there and talked.

And she really, really, really missed those days.

So she excused herself from the group, giving them four bucks for her coffee, and went into the motel they were staying at. She went up to her room and flopped down on her bed, grabbing her Ipod which was on the dresser table. She put the earpods in her ears, turned on her Ipod and scanned for Seth's mix CD he made for her. She really needed to be with Seth - or that's how she felt anyway, and the CD he made for her was as close as she was going to get. She closed her eyes as the song came on.

_Every town has a diner,_

_Where I'll meet you and your friends too,_

_Things are just a bit nicer over coffee,_

_You can tell me all about your day._

Summer recognized the sound as Death Cab for Cutie. She'd listened enough to Cohen's awful taste in music to know what bands were what. She didn't recongize the song because it wasn't off of their newer albums (which is what Seth listened to most of the time). However, she was really liking the lyrics. They definitely fit her mood.

She heard the door being opened so Summer opened her eyes. There standing in the door way was her temporary roomate, Kelly. Kelly was a nice enough girl who was from New York City and liked to shop and was raised vegeterian.

"Hey, are you okay? You totally bailed on us in the diner." Kelly's blonde hair was being twirled around one finger as she was taking off her sneakers.

Summer took out one earpod. "Um, yeah. I just... I don't know. Being in that diner was weird 'cause I used to go to this one diner back home all the time with my best friend, and her boyfriend and my boyfriend."

Kelly gave Summer a small smile as she fell onto the twin bed opposite Summer's. "Yeah. It's totally weird being away from my friends. I get what you mean. Well...I mean, not exactly 'cause I grew up in The City and we don't have diners there."

Summer listened to her breathing for a moment. In, out. In, out.

"So, what's your best friend like?" Kelly asked, curiously.

Summer gasped a little. Not on purpose of course. "Um, she... Her name was Marissa and we were best friends since, like, sixth grade or something. She, um, died."

Kelly didn't say anything. In the room there was silence and the soft playing of that Death Cab song Summer didn't recongize.

_It's a dumb thing,_

_You will wait for me,_

_You will wait for me,_

_You will wait for me._

Summer closed her eyes, drifting off into a sleep as she listened to the Death Cab song.


	3. Ocean Breathes Salty

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this story. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, Kelly, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates!

This chapter has some strong language, which I guess should be rated T. However not all of my chapters have language such as this, so I am NOT going to change the rating of this story.

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**3. Ocean Breathes Salty**

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_Your body may be gone,_

_I'm gonna carry you in,_

_In my head, in my heart, in my soul,_

_And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again._

Summer was really missing Marissa today.

It was pouring rain and it was dark outside and she was listening to Cohen's mix CD on her Ipod. She was in a motel in Philadelphia. Her temporary roomate was once again Kelly. Kelly was out with the group of other volunteers their age, doing who-knows-what. But at that moment, Summer didn't care. She really and honestly didn't. All she wanted was Marissa.

Maybe she missed Marissa more today than usual because today was Marissa's half birthday. When she and Marissa were younger, they often joked with each other that they should get gifts on their half-birthday because it was _technically_ their birthdays. Maybe she missed Marissa today because she was lonely. She didn't have much contact with Taylor or Ryan or her dad (who she briefly saw when they stopped in Seattle) or even Seth. The people funding the G.E.O.R.G.E trip really didn't want them to have much contact with outsiders. Summer usually didn't mind all that much; she had gotten used to speaking less to her friends. But today, she really wished she could talk to somebody. Hell, she thought, even Julie.

The song that was playing - 'Track Four' on the mix - was very somber but had a rapsy guy's voice singing. It was obviously about somebody's death or somebody who was thinking about death or death in general, and it totally fit Summer's mood. Maybe Seth knew she was going to miss Coop sometime on this trip and so he put this song on for her. Well, _whatever_, making her think too hard was making her cry even more.

Fuck Coop.

Why couldn't Atwood save her? Why couldn't have he rushed to make that damn phone call to the police and 911 people? Why...why, why was Coop gone? She was, like, her best friend since _ever_. She was supposed to have gone to Greece with her dad, not to the morgue.

Summer remembered the days when she and Coop would get drunk at parties and flirt with all the Newpsies' sons. She remembered when she and Coop were little and danced around to Backstreet Boys songs. She remembered when she thought Justin Timberlake from NSYNC (and before that, the Mickey Mouse Club) was _soo cute_ and how Marissa preferred Lance Bass. She remembered going shopping at South Coast Plaza, and trying on dresses that they wanted and then liked so much they bought.

_Will you tell me what you saw,_

_And I'll tell you what you've missed,_

_When the ocean met the sky,_

_You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye._

Summer hated today.

The rain was making her miserable. She missed Coop a lot. She licked her lips as she felt tear drops fall into her mouth and snot made its way down her face. The tears tasted salty. Irony, she thought, the song lyrics mentioned something about the ocean breathing salty or something like that.

She closed her eyes, praying the rain would stop and Coop's death would stop haunting her, even if it was less than a year.


	4. Wedding Dress

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. The iHome is owned by the Apple people; I own one and I looove it to pieces! I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this story. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, Kelly, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates!

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**4. Wedding Dress**

**

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**

_In your wedding dress,_

_To have and to hold,_

_'Cause even at my best,_

_I wanna let go._

"Do you think you'll get married ever?"

The group of G.E.O.R.G.E. volunteers were playing a game of Truth.

Truth was one of those games when, asked a question, you had to answer with the truth. It was something usually played by teenagers or little girls at a sleepover. Not by twenty-something-year-olds. And certainly not by Summer Roberts. However, since she was bored and it was Saturday and she had already talked to Taylor and Ryan and Cohen, she had nothing better to do.

Placed in somebody's iHome was Summer's iPod. Someone (probably Kelly or that blonde boy whose name was John or Jack or Josh, something like that) put on Cohen's mix CD and everybody was listening to it. It was sort of embarassing for Summer, but she was trying not to show it.

_Thought I'd lost you,_

_Thought I'd lost you,_

_I gave you away,_

_Thought I'd lost you,_

_I'm jealous of the moon,_

_For how it moves away._

The question asked was for Summer to answer. She really didn't want to answer it. It made her think too much of Seth Cohen and right now she didn't want to think of the past. Even if the question was for the future.

"Did you ask her that question because of the song playing?" A girl wearing a purple t-shirt, jeans and Berkinstocks asked, laughing.

"Nooo!" The other girl stuck her tongue out.

Summer rolled her eyes. Well as long as they kept annoying each other, she could avoid the question.

She closed her eyes for a moment and thought of the past. The past. When she thought she could be pregnant and almost married Cohen. When she examined her possibilities: keep the baby, abort it or give it up for adoption. When she said '_yes_' when she really meant '_no_.' When Cohen gave her - him, being such an immature boy - a glow in the dark engagement ring of sorts. She knew, at that time, she wasn't ready to be a mother and a wife or just a wife. She knew that he wasn't either.

"So, Summer, do you think you'll ever get married?" Someone repeated the question but she didn't care nor notice. She was too lost in the past.

He had proposed to her that evening when he and Ryan chased after that alien slut to get back the pregnancy test. He had sat Indian-style on her floor, and proposed to her in such a weird way. The funny thing was that the proposal was totally _them_. Seth and Summer had been discussing if they should look at the pregnancy test (Summer had wanted to, he didn't). He said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. And that, even when the pregnancy test had been negitive, was the best thing anyone had ever said to her.

"Sum-_mer_? _Hello_? Summer, did you hear the question?"

Summer blinked a couple of times. She then gave her best smile. She truly meant what she said next and she knew exactly who she had in mind of 'someday marrying.'

"Yeah, I think I will."


	5. Apologies on Napkins

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. The iHome is owned by the Apple people; I own one and I looove it to pieces! I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this story. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, Kelly, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates!

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**4. Apologies on Napkins**

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Summer scrolled down Taylor's blog. 

It seemed like Taylor was doing okay, Ryan was fitting in at Berkley and what contact Taylor had with Seth, it seemed Cohen was doing okay at RISD. Taylor gushed about Ryan and their relationship, which Summer found cute. Taylor and Atwood seemed to do okay with each other, which was _such_ a contrast from...Coop and him. With Coop, Atwood was completely all over the place (quite literally, usually because of Coop's antics). With Taylor, however, he seemed more down to Earth.

She liked this time at whatever city/town library she could get. She could go on the internet and see how her friends were doing (or mainly Taylor). Kaitlyn, Ryan and Cohen didn't have blogs. That would be funny, she thought rolling her eyes at something witty Taylor wrote on her blog, Atwood having a blog. What would he write about? She could just see it: _Today I punched the shit out of some guy's nose in the quad. - Kid Chino_.

It was probably a weird sight to see for anyone who knew her back home. Summer Roberts in a -- God forbid! -- library?! Ridiculous! Never!

She bit her lip. Fiddling with the ring on her thumb, she debated whether or not to comment on Taylor's blog. She took of the the thumb ring (why had she bought it? It was honestly ugly and didn't look good and one of those _stupid_ G.E.O.R.G.E girls told her to get it.) and clicked ''comment.''

_Taylor,_

_It's great hearing about your friends like Ryan, and Seth Cohen. But whatever happened to Summer, saving the world- or rather, the country? You used to write a lot (or semi-a lot) about her. She used to conflict your blog thoughts: Did you like her boyfriend or not? Now, she's off on some bus with VERY limited internet time. Meaning, like, right now. _

_So anyway, I thought I'd update you on her life. Or my life. This third person thing is so totally ew. And so totally NOT me. So anyway... I am okay. I miss Cohen A LOT A LOT, and you of course. And Atwood too. Sometimes I wish I was still at Brown. Is that weird to think? Because if I was, Cohen would be, like, so close to me. And I wouldn't be on a bus touring the country and talking to kids who (sometimes) care about what I'm talking about. But anyway, at the same time, I totally love what I'm doing. I'm protecting the earth so that it will be clean. And animals will be safe. BUT I SERIOUSLY MISS THE BEACH A LOT. Lots of girls here on the East Coast fake bake. They go to tanning salons, and become orange. It is so 'ew.' And they wear Uggs and mini skirts when it's winter. Okay, seriously, the only people who are entitled to do that are us- and that's because we originate from Orange County and we don't have seasons at all. _

_Miss you loads!_

_Love, Summer_

* * *

She twisted her Ipod in her hands as she laid, sprawled across the hotel bed. 

Reading Taylor's blog made her miss Taylor's ridiculous, albeit good-hearted, intentions. It also made her miss the beach (the East Coast beaches were _nothing_ compared to the beaches back home) and tanning and shopping.

And so, she had left the library and gone back to her hotel room. Her roommate of the moment - she didn't remember her name, but she was tall and freckled and talked a lot, kind of like Taylor - was watching television. It was a re-run of _The Valley_. It was one of Summer's favorite episodes; it was when April and Jake first started going out, despite April's fears of being seen with a geek. She didn't need to listen to the episode, she knew the whole thing by heart. Therefore, she was listening to Cohen's mix instead.

_I've got apologies on napkins with all the things to say,_

_I say "I'm sorry" for a reaction,_

_But you're still walking away,_

_And I know it's too late,_

_She's screaming "Don't wait by the bedside,_

_I'm not coming back this time."_

The song lyrics reminded Summer of the time when Cohen was smoking pot and he wrote her an apology list on a napkin. He told her to keep it and if he ever screwed up again, she had the right to give it to his parents. He ended up lying to her about getting into Brown, and she gave the napkin apologies to his father. And then somehow after that, in a jumbled mess, Cohen and their relationship was back to normal. And then she got into Brown and she went to Brown and then she got kicked out, thanks to stupid, stupid Che.


	6. Traffic

**Disclaimer:** I am obviously not the creator/producer/writer of _The O.C._ There is a shirt out there with a tree on it that says 'save a tree, eat a beaver.' I've seen it. The iHome is owned by the Apple people; I own one and I looove it to pieces! The radio station 102.7 is an actual radio station in the L.A. area, it plays top 40 songs, current pop/rap/R&B songs. I also do not own any bands, songs, song lyrics, etc. mentioned in this story. Any original characters (i.e. blonde boy, Kelly, etc.) are mine; yup, copyrighted by me, too!

**Author's Notes: **These are all one-shots, completing a mix CD that Seth made for Summer. They are fairly short, so don't expect long written updates! **_This is it...this is the last and final chapter_**. I hope you enjoyed this!!

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**5. Traffic**

* * *

There was _so_ much damn traffic. 

Summer's bags were packed and were in the lower compartment of the G.E.O.R.G.E bus.

She was going home. Or going to Newport. She hoped Cohen, and Taylor and Ryan showed up. She e-mailed them the day she was coming home. Which was in 3 hours. Or more, like, 4,000 at this rate.

She was thankful she had her Ipod with her. It was a useful little item. She half-smiled as she thought about sending a nice letter to Steve Jobs, thanking him for creating the Ipod and how her (incredible, _incredible_, incredible) boyfriend made her this (amazing, _amazing_, amazing) mix CD and was able to put it on her Ipod, which helped her not only save the world but help her feel safe when she missed her friends from home.

_This is the third time this week,_

_That I find myself wandering down your street,_

_And I can't seem to give it up,_

_I've even stopped making excuses for why,_

_You're stuck here in my thoughts when it's been long enough._

She closed her eyes as she tapped her fingers to the beat of the song. It was a nice song. It was some kind of acoustic. It wasn't indie-emo-pop-rock-some-classic-oldies kind of stuff Cohen usually listened to. It was a woman, young-sounding, singing and just some guitar. It was rather pretty and the song was nice. It reminded her of Cohen in a way. She guessed that's why he chose the song.

She opened her eyes to find some G.E.O.R.G.E girls snapping pictures in her face.

"Smile!" They spoke cheerfully. "We want to get some photos of everybody on the trip before we leave."

Summer bit her lip for a moment, and adjusted her silver locket. The locket had been a gift from Julie a year ago at Julie's almost-wedding to Bullit. Right before the wedding, Julie had given her a locket with Coop's picture in it. She then put a lock of brown hair behind her ear and gave her best smile. A bright silverly light went into her eyes and the girls quickly thanked her and ran off.

The towns and cities she had seen were nice. Seattle, Philadelphia, Westchester, Newton, Forest City, Florham Park, Boca Raton, Vermillion, El Paso.

But she missed home. Though, she had to admit, she liked saving the enivornment.

* * *

The palm trees greeted her. The breeze smelled of ocean. The sun shined like it had never before. Somehow, she was glad to be back in Newport. It was weird. Just last year, she didn't mind getting out of the plastic-slut bubble, going to Rhode Island with its cold winters and snow. Now, however, she felt differently. It didn't make sense. At all. 

She put on her D&G sunglasses, blocking the sunshine in her eyes.

Some girls sitting near her were singing that annoying new R&B single about umbrellas. _Whatever_. Three years ago, she _would have _been one of those girls; knowing the Top 40 songs, and knowing all the lyrics. And now she didn't care about it. She didn't care what the new single was (Umbrella, she remembered now) nor if she could win tickets to 102.7's latest concert with all the 'big stars.' Now she cared about more simple things, less materialistic. Summer wondered if it had to do with G.E.O.R.G.E, but first off becoming Seth Cohen's girlfriend.

She passed the signs for Malibu and other towns. She watched people wearing bikinis and swimsuits, carrying surfboards, walk along the road. She grinned. It felt so good to be _home_.


End file.
